Multiple NBA teams are chasing a blockbuster trade for Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Bucks aren’t letting him go easily.
ESPN’s Shams Charania named the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors among the most serious suitors for Antetokounmpo, but none of them will be able to get him without giving up a significant return package.
While speaking about Milwaukee’s asking price, one general manager told NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, “They’re asking for the moon. All of your young players and all of your draft picks.”
All signs point to Antetokounmpo’s time in Milwaukee coming to an end at the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but there’s a chance that the Bucks hold onto him if their demands aren’t met. Still, the two-time NBA MVP is reportedly already considering what life would be like elsewhere.
“I’ve been on the phone constantly for the last two or three days about this very subject,” The Ringer’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast. “And right now, a week out, there is, including among potentially interested teams, It’s not a skepticism that they will move him by this deadline, but they’re asking for so much as they should, but not even that they’re asking for so much, they just are sort of trying to goad us into putting everything on the table.Â
“And if they don’t get exactly what they want, blue chip this, draft pick that, they can wait until the summer when all those teams that we mentioned have draft picks that open up. When the extension deadline happens, and he’s guaranteed—he’s on a guaranteed deal for next year with a player option for the year after that—so there’s no time crunch. And so a week ago, you do hear teams, a lot of that. I was on the phone with two GMs this morning, who said, ‘I don’t think they’re gonna trade him [at the deadline].'”
Stein and Fischer reported that the idea of playing alongside Timberwolves star shooting guard Anthony Edwards “holds strong appeal” for Antetokounmpo, and there have been “notable backchannel discussions in recent months” indicating that Minnesota is a viable landing spot. Miami was also named as a team to watch in the race for Antetokounmpo.
However, the Bucks would undoubtedly be seeking significant draft capital, making the Warriors one of the frontrunners to complete a deal for the 31-year-old. ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that Golden State “can offer up to four first-rounders: 2026, 2028, 2032 unprotected and 2030 if it falls within the 1-20 range.”
The Portland Trail Blazers were previously floated as an option to include in a multi-team deal, as they hold swap rights on the Bucks’ draft picks in 2028 and 2030 thanks to the Damian Lillard trade.
Time is running out for teams to convince Milwaukee to move Antetokounmpo, and it sounds unlikely that the team will ease its trade demands in the coming days.